


156 - Van Intervenes in a Fight Between You and Your Soon-to-be-Ex

by storiesaboutvan



Category: Catfish and the Bottlemen (Band)
Genre: F/M, Hero Van, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 09:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17404010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesaboutvan/pseuds/storiesaboutvan
Summary: Filling the prompt “Van sees reader in an altercation with their partner and he intervenes and assures them that the partner is wrong and they’re wonderful just how they are?”





	156 - Van Intervenes in a Fight Between You and Your Soon-to-be-Ex

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Your ex is a bit of a dick, but it's not like, a super hectic trauma story.

It had taken a few hours to find an outfit you felt comfortable in, let alone one in which you actually thought you looked semi-decent in. And, by some miracle, your eyeliner wings were even. When you were picked up out the front of your house by Jono, he hardly gave you a second look as you slipped into the passenger seat. It was meant to be a date, but when you arrived at the restaurant one of his friends was leaning against the wall. Knowing better than to question him, you greeted Dan and followed the pair inside.

The conversation was clearly not meant for you, and you only spoke when Jono was staring at you. "What?" you asked, sitting up straight.

"You're eyebrows are different,"

"Yeah. I brushed them out. New thing I'm trying. Do you like it?" you replied hopefully. He shrugged and continued with Dan.

Jono made a big show of paying the bill and Dan told you that you were "lucky to have such a gentlemen." You internally shuddered and suppressed a scream. "Are you coming with us?" he asked then.

"Coming with you where?" you replied confused. After the 'date' there was meant to be a film, maybe, or home to binge watch something on Netflix. The plan had clearly changed without your input though.

"Just going out for a few drinks. You're welcome to come!" Dan told you. 

Well, you didn't get all dressed up for nothing. Sitting in the backseat as Jono drove through the city, you caught your reflection in the window and were sad to see the frown and the hunched over posture. A body defeated, exhausted.

It was a bar you'd never been to and you didn't bother asking how they knew about it. They sat at a table and ordered drinks and continued their mindless chatter. You watched as a group of people set up on a small stage.

"I think a band's going to play," you said to the guys.

"Obviously, Y/N," Jono said. "Wouldn't have come if I'd known,"

"Might be good," you replied.

"Look at their fucking jeans. Gonna be some indie shit," Dan theorised.

He was right in the sense that their clothing did give hints that their music would be some form of rock, most likely. Steadily the room filled with people and you moved to kneel on your chair so you could see. Whoever they were, they drew a crowd. The lights went down and they walked out. They were young, like you, maybe twenty-one, or two. The singer was in a striped shirt with a red heart on the pocket. You could have sworn you saw it in the 'Ladies' section of Topshop. As they cycled through their set, people danced and jumped and hugged. Their music was infectious and it clearly made people really, really fucking happy. You wrote down Catfish and the Bottlemen in your phone, so you could look them up when you got home. They finished without an encore, and the room cheered. The singer thanked everyone for the fiftieth time.

Sitting down on the chair again, Jono shot you a look. "You right?" he asked.

"What?"

"They you're favourite band or something?" His voice was sharp and accusatory. You looked at Dan, who quickly found something interesting in the bottom of his glass.

"I… I don't know them? I just…"

"You would fucking like that shit,"

"I…" You didn't know what you'd done or what to say to make it better. "I'm going to go out for some air real quick," you said and dashed from the table before Jono could hold you in place by the wrist.

There were a lot of people out the front of the bar. Too many. You could feel your breathing becoming become irregular, painful. Rounding the corner, you were in an alleyway. There were a few people at the other end but you didn't look at them for longer than a split second. Then, your name being called.

"Y/N!" Jono turned the corner. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What?"

"You? First you dressed like…"

"Like what?" you asked looking down at yourself. You had tried.

"Like you're fucking asking for it!" His voice was a yell and you swallowed your rage. Eyes flicking around for an escape route, you felt growing fear. "I saw you flirting with Dan. He's my best friend, Y/N. He's not going to fuck you. And sitting up on the chair like that. Like a fucking groupie. What are you playing at?" There wasn't a single drop of truth in anything that he was saying. Logically, you knew that, but it felt real. There were other voices around and they were getting louder. Jono wasn't done though, and if he was about to get an audience he didn't seem to mind. "Nobody would want you anyway, Y/N. That dress makes your thighs look fat, and you're trying too hard with your makeup. Think you should probably just fuck off home, yeah? Don't wait up, I'm-”

"Mate. Hope the next word out your fuckin’ mouth is 'sorry,' yeah?" someone said, coming to stand beside you. You were shaking and could hardly muster the energy to move. From the corner of your eye, you could see stripes. You glanced up at Jono, who had a dangerous smirk on his face.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? Fuck off,"

"I'm Van. And I don't much like the way you're talkin' to the little lady here," he said, an arm going around your shoulder.

"Get your hands off my girlfriend," Jono spat, stepping closer.

"Surprised if she'll be your girlfriend for much longer," Van laughed. He gently shook you, making you look up at him. The singer, of course. Stripes. He'd been loading gear from stage to van in the alleyway when he'd overheard the fight. "You wanna come see backstage, love? It's all very glamorous, sharing a green room with the bar's stock," he invited with a grin. You went to look back at Jono, gauge his mood, how much of a mistake you were about to make. Van's hand came up to your face and gently stopped you from looking at him. Two fingers on your jaw, he spoke again. "Don't bother checkin' with him, yeah?" Van's eyes watched Jono as he talked to you. "Don't need someone that tells you that you're anything but glorious, 'cause that's what you are. You look amazin' in that dress. I'd drop to my knees right now if you asked. You're dead cute, and don't need anyone talkin' shit at you. Come with me, yeah?"

It was a defining moment. If you walked away from Jono, you could never go back. You'd have to face the world alone, even if his company never really made you any less lonely. Looking at Van carefully, trying to figure out why he was doing it, you could see his kindness. His eyes met yours and he gave you a reassuring little nod. It was a defining moment, but an easy decision. You nodded back and Van lead you away.

"Yeah, well fuck you anyway Y/N!" Jono yelled. Van's band up ahead were watching, amused but ready to step in if needed. They laughed at Jono. One of them waved at him with a condescending smile.

Van unwrapped his arm from around you but replaced it with his hands on your shoulders. He positioned you so your back was to Jono, to where he was walking away. Van ducked his head so his face was directly in front of yours.

"Don't listen to a word he says, yeah? You're way too fuckin' good for him," he said.

"Yeah. He was punchin' above his weight, alright," the other guitarist said, as he played Tetris with their equipment.

"You don't live with him or anythin', do you?" Van asked. You shook your head. "Good. 'Cause we'd have to go round now and get your stuff," he said, nodding to himself. He had this all planned out.

"Some of my stuff is there, though," you spoke. Your voice was quieter than you wanted it to be. You shook in the cold and in the state of limbo you were in. Van let go of you and crawled into the van, reemerging with a hoodie. He handed it to you and you looked at it before looking back at him.

"Put it on. We'll go get your stuff now… Yeah?" he asked you and his friends, glancing around at them. They nodded. There were five of them all up; four from the band and another guy that helped them set up.

"You don’t know me," you replied.

"Put the hoodie on," Van said again, pushing it closer to you. You did, and even if you looked silly, you were warmer. "Doesn't matter if we don't know you. He's a right twat, you don't deserve that. Nobody does. What's your name?"

"Y/N,"

"Y/N. I'm Van. This one is Bondy. That's Benji, Bob, and Larry," he said, pointing to them as they got into the van. You chewed your bottom lip and put your hands in the front pocket of the hoodie. Van walked back towards the open van door. "Come on," he said. You followed him in.

You hardly spoke during the ride to Jono's, apart from giving directions. The guys talked about the show, and their enthusiasm for their band was beautiful. Van knocked his shoulder gently into yours.

"Hi," you whispered in acknowledgement. He'd caught you looking at your reflection in the window. You looked the same as before. Still sad and unsure, but in a stranger's warm hoodie, maybe a little more hopeful.

"Hi," he whispered back. "I mean it, you know? Didn't just say that stuff to make him mad. Well, I did, but it's also true. You're beautiful. He don't know what he's talkin' about," Van told you. You nodded small. "Gimme a couple of hours. I'll make you believe me,"

"This it, Y/N?" Larry asked from the driver's seat.

"But first, we break into your shitty ex's house, yeah?" Van said with a grin that you'd learn over the coming weeks, months, years, meant trouble.


End file.
